Albemarle

13.9

Cruiser | U.K. | Tier VIII

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VIII

9,000,000

Albemarle — British Tier VIII cruiser.

At the end of 1939, the British Naval Shipbuilding Office focused on the development of cruisers featuring 203 mm guns. In 1940, several designs for cruisers based on the Edinburgh-class ships were presented. The biggest of them in terms of size and combat qualities was a project for a cruiser with a displacement of 15,500 tons boasting three triple-gun turrets housing 203 mm guns. According to the plan, ships of this class were to be commissioned in 1944; however, the Admiralty was displeased with their low speed, and it was decided to abandon the project in favor of mass-constructing light cruisers.

Modules

	Rate of Fire (shots/min)	180° Turn Time (sec)	Maximum Dispersion (m)	Maximum HE Shell Damage (HP)	Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell (%)	Maximum AP Shell Damage (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
203 mm/50 Mk IX on a Mk.III mount	4.6	22.5	131	3,300	17	4,500		0	600,000

	Hit Points (HP)	Armor (mm)	Armor (mm)	Main Turrets (pcs.)	Secondary Gun Turrets (pcs.)	AA Mounts (pcs.)	Torpedo Tubes (pcs.)	Hangar Capacity (pcs.)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Albemarle (A)	39,400	16	152	3	6	16/2/4/6	2			0	900,000
Albemarle (B)	43,800	16	152	3	6	6/6	2			32,500	2,450,000

	Rate of Fire (shots/min)	Torpedo Tubes Reload Time (sec)	180° Turn Time (sec)	Maximum Damage (HP)	Torpedo Speed (knot)	Torpedo Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
533 mm Mk IX**	0.6	96	7.2	15,533	62	10		0	600,000

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Mk VIII mod. 1		0		0	600,000
Mk VIII mod. 2		0		19,500	1,750,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 110,000 hp	33		0	600,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5

Player Opinion

Performance

Warning: The data presented in the AA Defense sidebar section may be incorrect.
Refer to the in-game Port screens for more useful data.

At first sight, Albemarle is only a marginal upgrade over her predecessor, Surrey. She equips 1 more gun for a total of nine 203mm guns in 3 turrets with a standard AB-X configuration. However, Albemarle is the first British heavy cruiser to receive access to an improved Repair Party that restores up to 40% of her total HP over 20 seconds (compared to the 14% over 28 seconds of her predecessor). Albemarle's enhanced Repair Party grants her increased survivability that is bolstered by her already high HP pool of 43,800, which is reflective of her heavy cruiser classification. On the flip slide, Albemarle also shares the mediocre handling of most heavy cruisers. Nevertheless, Albemarle's ability to out-tank cruisers she cannot out-damage—and even those she can—is a valuable trait.

Albemarle's HE is hard-hitting with among the highest maximum damage per shell of all Tier VIII cruisers (behind only the 234mm-armed Cheshire), though her AP performance is more lackluster. While her AP shells are capable of achieving citadel hits on broadside cruisers even 12 km away, astute enemy ships will quickly turn to eliminate further citadel opportunities and captains will usually default to her HE shells for their more consistent performance and relatively high fire-setting chance. With respect to her turrets, Albemarle's gun firing arcs are appreciably better for the aft turret. Because Albemarle's forward guns cannot turn very far toward the stern, firing more than 3 guns while retreating is dangerous. Captains may prefer to stay 12-15 km from enemy cruisers and battleships for easy opportunities to retreat, repair, return, and retaliate. Though Albemarle can hunt destroyers too, her 13 second main battery reload time handicaps her in this role.

Torpedo-wise, Albemarle is a welcome improvement over her predecessor. She mounts the same number of tubes—4 per side for a total of 8—with the same reload time of 96 seconds. Her torpedoes deal negligibly less damage for a 10 km range, 2 km greater than Surrey's, and a 62 knot speed. The 10 km range is just long enough to be periodically usable while the 62 knot speed does not cripple the practical damage-dealing capabilities of her torpedoes. With a full concealment build and camouflage, Albemarle even has a 0.2 km window to torpedo enemies while undetected. On top of that, Albemarle's torpedo arcs are wider than Surrey's and comfortable to use, increasing the practical utility of her torpedoes. The ability to launch torpedoes single-file, a characteristic shared with all other British ships but Campbeltown, further opens up additional opportunities to hurt even bow-tanking targets.

Overall, Albemarle is what captains can expect from a heavy cruiser with torpedoes. The increased efficiency of her British Repair Party is an added benefit that serves as a ship-saving fallback when engagements don't work out as planned. Albemarle is a reliable damage dealer on a platform designed to last and captains will fare well provided they keep her afloat long enough to take advantage of her heal.

Pros:

Good survivability from large HP pool (behind only Prinz Eugen and Tallinn) and enhanced Repair Party.
Good HE shell damage and fire chance (both behind only Cheshire).
Usable torpedoes with wide arcs, 10 km range, and 62 kn speed.
Has access to Specialized Repair Teams 
Relatively good concealment for a Tier VIII cruiser.

Cons:

Mediocre 15.7 km range (3rd shortest at tier), though augmented by Spotting Aircraft.
Relatively long 13 second main battery reload time.
Mediocre gun firing arcs that require exposing broadside to fire a full salvo.
Slugglish handling. Accelerates and stops awfully slow with mediocre rudder shift time.
Citadel sits above the waterline, showing broadside could be devastating

Research

Availability of researchable upgrades for Albemarle is as follows:

Hull: Upgrade to Hull (B) for more hit points, better AA and faster rudder shift time. Research of this module unlocks progression to Drake.
Gun Fire Control System: Upgrade to Mk VIII mod. 2 for an extra 10% range on the main battery.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Albemarle are as follows:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
Slot 2: Engine Room Protection
Slot 3: Aiming Systems Modification 1
Slot 4: Steering Gears Modification 1
Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1

Commander Skills

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack				Defense
1	Grease the Gears +15% main battery traverse speed. ★	Swift Fish +5% torpedo speed. ★	Consumables Specialist −7.5% cooldown time of all Consumables except: Damage Control Party  Repair Party . ★	Gun Feeder -40% time to switch shell type. ★★	Incoming Fire Alert Receive a warning of a salvo fired at your ship from more than 4.5km. ★	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver - slowly - while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated. ★
2	Demolition Expert +1% chance of main and secondary HE shells causing a fire. +15% to the fragmentation damage area of HE ordnance fired at submarines.	Fill the Tubes -10% torpedo tubes reload time. ★	Consumables Enhancements +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search, Surveillance Radar, Smoke Generator, & Engine Boost. ★	Eye in the Sky Spotting Aircraft: • +2 charges • -50% cooldown time.	Priority Target The detection indicator will show the number of enemies targeting you with main battery. ★★★	Focus Fire Training In an active priority AA sector: • +1.5% (to 5%) immediate damage. • +25% continuous damage. • +1 flak burst per salvo. −10% aircraft preparation time. −15% reload time of Airstrike armament.. ★★
3	Heavy HE and SAP Shells +10% HE and SAP shell damage. +15% ship detectability guns 149mm and up. ★	Pack a Punch +15% torpedo damage. +20% secondary battery range.. ★★	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% reload time of all armaments per 1% HP lost +0.2% AA continuous damage per 1% HP lost. ★★★	Heavy AP Shells +5% damage for AP shells 190mm and larger. ★★	Superintendent +1 charge to all consumables. ★★	Survivability Expert +450 HP per ship tier. ★
4	Top Grade Gunner -10% reload time of secondary batteries If enemy ship is spotted within detectability range, -8% reload time of main battery. ★★	Outnumbered If there are fewer allies than visible enemies within the ship's base main caliber firing range: +8% ship speed -10% main battery dispersion.	Radio Location Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken.. ★	Inertial Fuse for HE Shells +25% armor penetration of HE shells Base fire chance reduced by half.	Concealment Expert -10% detectability range of the ship. ★★★	AAA & ASW Expert +25% continuous AA and flak damage. +15% damage inflicted by depth charges. While AAA is active: −50% ship consumables reload time.. ★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Albemarle can equip the following consumables:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Specialized Repair Teams 
Slot 3: Defensive AA Fire  or Hydroacoustic Search 
Slot 4: Spotting Aircraft

Signals

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Juliet Charlie -100% to the risk of magazine detonation. ★	Juliet Yankee Bissotwo -20% to flooding duration.	India Yankee -20% to fire duration.	Hotel Yankee -20% to damage received when ramming the enemy. +50% to damage dealt when ramming the enemy.	Victor Lima +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +4% chance of torpedoes causing flooding. ★★	India X-Ray +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating. ★★
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating.	Mike Yankee Soxisix +5% to secondary battery maximum firing range. -5% to maximum dispersion of secondary battery shells. -5% to secondary battery loading time.	November Echo Setteseven +5% continuous AA damage at all ranges. +5% damage from flak bursts. ★	Sierra Mike +5% to the ship's maximum speed. ★★★	November Foxtrot -5% reload time on all consumables. ★★★	India Delta +20% to the amount of HP recovered when Repair Party  is used. ★★
X-Ray Papa Unaone +10% action time of a Smoke Generator .	Sierra Bravo +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search  -10% reload time of Defensive AA Fire . ★★

Note: Use of the Juliet Charlie signal makes detonation impossible.

Gallery

References

Ships of U.K.

Destroyers	II Medea • III Valkyrie • III Campbeltown • IV Wakeful • V Acasta • VI Icarus • VI Gallant • VII Jervis • VII Jupiter '42 • VIII Lightning • VIII Cossack • VIII Cossack B • IX Jutland • IX Somme • X Daring • X Druid
Cruisers	I Black Swan • II Weymouth • III Caledon • IV Danae • V Emerald • V Hawkins • V Exeter • VI Leander • VI Devonshire • VI London • VI Dido • VI Orion '44 • VII Fiji • VII Surrey • VII Belfast • VIII Edinburgh • VIII Albemarle • VIII Cheshire • VIII Tiger '59 • VIII Belfast '43 • VIII Hampshire • VIII Nottingham • VIII AL Cheshire • VIII STAR Edinburgh • IX Neptune • IX Drake • X Monmouth • X Minotaur • X Goliath • X Plymouth • X Gibraltar • X Defence • ★ Edgar
Battleships	III Bellerophon • III Indefatigable • III Dreadnought • IV Orion • IV Queen Mary • V Iron Duke • V Tiger • V Agincourt • VI Warspite • VI Queen Elizabeth • VI Renown • VI Repulse • VI Repulse B • VII King George V • VII Rooke • VII Hood • VII Nelson • VII Duke of York • VII Collingwood • VII Renown '44 • VII Rodney • VIII Monarch • VIII Hawke • VIII Vanguard • IX Lion • IX Duncan • IX Marlborough • IX Scarlet Thunder • X Conqueror • X St. Vincent • X Thunderer • X Incomparable • X Cumberland • X [[Ship:[Conqueror]\|[Conqueror]]] • ★ Devastation
Aircraft Carriers	IV Hermes • VI Furious • VI Ark Royal • VIII Implacable • VIII Indomitable • VIII Colossus • VIII Theseus • X Audacious • X Malta • X [[Ship:[Audacious]\|[Audacious]]] • ★ Eagle

Cruisers

Netherlands	I Van Kinsbergen • II Gelderland • III Java • IV De Ruyter • V Celebes • VI Kijkduin • VII Eendracht • VIII Haarlem • VIII De Zeven Provinciën • VIII Admiraal • VIII Statenland • IX Johan de Witt • IX Van Speijk • X Gouden Leeuw • X Prins van Oranje • X Vrijheid
U.S.A.	I Erie • II Chester • II Albany • III St. Louis • III Charleston • IV Phoenix • V Omaha • V Marblehead • V Marblehead Lima • V Rattlehead • VI [[Ship:Cleveland (< 31.05.2018)\|Cleveland (< 31.05.2018)]] • VI Pensacola • VI Dallas • VII Atlanta • VII [[Ship:Pensacola (< 31.05.2018)\|Pensacola (< 31.05.2018)]] • VII New Orleans • VII Helena • VII Indianapolis • VII Atlanta B • VII Boise • VII Flint • VIII [[Ship:New Orleans (< 31.05.2018)\|New Orleans (< 31.05.2018)]] • VIII Baltimore • VIII Cleveland • VIII Wichita • VIII Anchorage • VIII Congress • VIII Rochester • VIII San Diego • VIII AL Montpelier • IX [[Ship:Baltimore (< 31.05.2018)\|Baltimore (< 31.05.2018)]] • IX Buffalo • IX Seattle • IX Vallejo • IX Alaska • IX Tulsa • IX Alaska B • X Des Moines • X Worcester • X Puerto Rico • X Salem • X Austin • ★ Jacksonville • ★ Annapolis
Europe	I Gryf • VI Elli • X Svea
Germany	I Hermelin • II Dresden • II Emden • III Kolberg • IV Karlsruhe • V Königsberg • VI Nürnberg • VI Admiral Graf Spee • VI Leipzig • VI HSF Admiral Graf Spee • VII Yorck • VII München • VII Weimar • VIII Admiral Hipper • VIII Prinz Eugen • VIII Mainz • VIII Schill • VIII Mainz B • VIII Cross of Dorn • VIII Wiesbaden • IX Roon • IX Siegfried • IX Ägir • IX Admiral Schröder • IX Roon CLR • IX AL Ägir • X Hindenburg • X Hildebrand • X [[Ship:[Hindenburg]\|[Hindenburg]]] • ★ Clausewitz
U.S.S.R.	I Orlan • II Diana • II Diana Lima • II Novik • III Aurora • III Bogatyr • III Oleg • III Varyag • III AL Avrora • IV Svietlana • V Murmansk • V [[Ship:Kirov (< 10.06.2020)\|Kirov (< 10.06.2020)]] • V Kotovsky • V Krasny Krym • V Mikoyan • V Kirov • VI Budyonny • VI Molotov • VI Admiral Makarov • VII Shchors • VII Lazo • VII Lazo B • VIII Chapayev • VIII Tallinn • VIII Mikhail Kutuzov • VIII Ochakov • VIII Pyotr Bagration • VIII Bagration • VIII Dmitry Pozharsky • IX Dmitri Donskoi • IX Riga • IX Kronshtadt • IX Kozma Minin • X Moskva • X Alexander Nevsky • X Petropavlovsk • X Stalingrad • X Smolensk B • X Smolensk • X Sevastopol • X Komissar • X [[Ship:[Moskva]\|[Moskva]]] • X Vladimir Monomakh • X Petrozavodsk • ★ Novosibirsk
Italy	I Eritrea • II Nino Bixio • III Taranto • IV Alberto di Giussano • V Raimondo Montecuccoli • V Genova • VI Trento • VI Duca d'Aosta • VII Zara • VII Duca degli Abruzzi • VII Francesco Ferruccio • VII Gorizia • VIII Amalfi • IX Brindisi • IX Michelangelo • X Venezia • X Napoli • X Napoli B • X Ravenna • ★ Piemonte
Pan-America	I Hércules • II Almirante Barroso • II Almirante Abreu • III Vicente Guerrero • IV Córdoba • V La Argentina • VI Almirante Cochrane • VII Coronel Bolognesi • VII Nueve de Julio • VIII Ignacio Allende • VIII Almirante Grau • IX Santander • X San Martín
Japan	I Hashidate • II Chikuma • III Tenryū • III Katori • IV Yūbari • IV Kuma • IV Iwaki Alpha • V Furutaka • V Agano • V Yahagi • VI Aoba • VI Gokase • VII Myōkō • VII Omono • VII Tokachi • VII Maya • VII ARP Myōkō • VII ARP Ashigara • VII ARP Haguro • VII Southern Dragon • VII Eastern Dragon • VII ARP Nachi • VIII Mogami • VIII Tone • VIII Atago • VIII Shimanto • VIII Atago B • VIII ARP Takao • VIII ARP Maya • VIII Tone 2 • VIII Tone 3 • IX Ibuki • IX Takahashi • IX Azuma • IX AL Azuma • IX Chikuma II • IX Chikuma II Golden • IX BA Takahashi • X Zaō • X Yodo • X Yoshino • X Yoshino B • X Kitakami • X Zaō CLR • X [[Ship:[Zaō]\|[Zaō]]]
U.K.	I Black Swan • II Weymouth • III Caledon • IV Danae • V Emerald • V Hawkins • V Exeter • VI Leander • VI Devonshire • VI London • VI Dido • VI Orion '44 • VII Fiji • VII Surrey • VII Belfast • VIII Edinburgh • VIII Albemarle • VIII Cheshire • VIII Tiger '59 • VIII Belfast '43 • VIII Hampshire • VIII Nottingham • VIII AL Cheshire • VIII STAR Edinburgh • IX Neptune • IX Drake • X Monmouth • X Minotaur • X Goliath • X Plymouth • X Gibraltar • X Defence • ★ Edgar
France	I Bougainville • II Jurien de la Gravière • III Friant • IV Duguay-Trouin • V Émile Bertin • VI La Galissonnière • VI De Grasse • VI Dupleix • VI Montcalm • VI [[Ship:[La Galissonnière]\|[La Galissonnière]]] • VII Algérie • VII Toulon • VIII Charles Martel • VIII Cherbourg • VIII Bayard • IX Saint-Louis • IX Brest • IX Carnot • X Henri IV • X Marseille • X Colbert • X Brennus • ★ Condé
Pan-Asia	I Chengan • III Ning Hai • V Chungking • VI Rahmat • VI Huanghe • VII Chumphon • VIII Harbin • VIII Irian • VIII Wukong • IX Sejong • IX Dalian • IX Mengchong • IX Tianjin • X Jinan • X Incheon
Spain	I Júpiter • II Méndez Núñez • III Navarra • IV Almirante Cervera • V Galicia • VI Baleares • VI Canarias • VII Asturias • VIII Cataluña • VIII Numancia • IX Andalucía • IX Almirante Oquendo • X Castilla
Commonwealth	I Sutlej • II Port Jackson • III Caradoc • IV Dunedin • V Delhi • VI Hobart • VI Perth • VI Mysore • VII Uganda • VIII Auckland • IX Encounter • IX Hector • X Cerberus • X Brisbane

Games

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Tools

Albemarle

Modules

Compatible Upgrades